For those familiar with the first edition of 1981, this second edition will come as something of a shock. No longer is the book the size to slip into a pocket, or perch on that rare space on your desk. The pages are now three times bigger, but what has been lost in convenience has been balanced by greater coverage and easier use, so that someone wanting to check the spelling of blameable now gets an entry reading "blameable not blamable (US)", rather than an instruction to "see -able". The Oxford University Press way, given here, is not the only way of doing things. Other publishers have other preferences, particularly for such things as spellings in -ise or -ize, but what this book will give you is a guide to a set of rules on when to hyphenate or combine words (use "blacklist" for the noun, not "black list" as recommended in the first edition); on doubtful or variable spellings ("gettable" not "getable"); the punctuation of abbreviations; dates and spellings of proper names, and all those other little things that are so difficult to be consistent about when writing. It is also an invaluable guide to words that are often confused such as biannual "twice every year, every six months" and biennial "every two years". This edition also keeps its charm for the browser, and is full of surprising, editor-confusing terms such as Aelia Laelia "an insoluble riddle" and pickelhaube "a German spiked infantry helmet". --Julia Cresswell

Throughout the twentieth century, The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors and Hart's Rules grew to be indispensable sources for all those who deal with the written word. Now, for the first time, The Oxford Style Manual combines in one volume these two classic reference books in their latest forms: the second edition of The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, and The Oxford Guide to Style - the new Hart's Rules. Together they offer unrivalled guidance on words and how to treat them.

The first part of The Oxford Style Manual contains 16 topic-based chapters of help on every aspect of words in print. The text is full of explanations, examples, and lists of, for example, abbreviations, capitalization, punctuation, and scientific and mathematical symbols. It gives clear advice on how to treat quotations, illustrations, tables, notes and references, specialist subjects, and indexes, as well as exhaustive information on foreign languages. There is also information on recent issues such as citing electronic media, submitting material for online publication, and current copyright law.

The second part of the Manual consists of short alphabetical entries that provide easy-to-follow guidance on specific writing conundrums, including common spelling difficulties (hairdryer or hairdrier?); queries on hyphenation and punctuation (brothers-in-law or brother-in-laws?); confusables (impassible or impassable?); differences between British and American English (pyjamas/pajamas); and difficult or unusual terms. The Oxford Style Manual really is the ultimate guide for all book, magazine, and Internet publishers on preparing and presenting the written word.